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What you said would also apply to, say, the British Empire, which was very Christian for its entire existence. Most people don't really care about the details

What you said would also apply to, say, the British Empire, which was very Christian for its entire existence. Most people don't really care about the details of history that much - just whatever narrative they can spin that satisfies today's needs.

gotchange 10y ago
Did the British force people to convert to Christianity for them to enjoy the benefits of being subjects of the monarchy? The British Empire was vast and I can't come up with a definite answer for all the areas that were colonized by them but in my country "Egypt", they didn't do that. They however facilitated the work of western missionaries but it didn't achieve much with the Muslim locals and probably contributed to the outrage of Coptic clergy as these missionaries were snatching people from their congregation. Other than that, the British didn't really care about religion and their social order was constructed on race/class first basis and anything else second while for the Ottomans it was all about religion first and anything else second.
- PhantomGremlin 10y ago
  Did the British force people to convert to Christianity for them to enjoy the benefits of being subjects of the monarchy? How far back in history do you want to go? Plenty of battles within Christianity in British history. E.g. King Henry VIII didn't accept the authority of the pope and led the Church of England away from the Roman Catholic Church. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England#Separation_from_Rome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England#Separation_f... A few generations later, things got pretty dicey for the remaining Catholics: England’s Elizabethan Catholics were public enemy number one. Their Masses were banned and their priests were executed. http://www.historyextra.com/article/elizabeth-i/elizabeth-i%E2%80%99s-war-england%E2%80%99s-catholics http://www.historyextra.com/article/elizabeth-i/elizabeth-i%...
  - gotchange 10y ago
    Did the British persecute Catholics when they were in an imperialist/expansionist mode around the world? To the best of my knowledge, that didn't happen. The British Empire in its quests wasn't concerned about anti-Catholicism and disdain for the authority of the Pope, it was primarily driven by political/financial gains. On the other hand, for the Ottoman Turks it was all about Jihad and the subjugation of non-Muslims in newly conquered territories. The persecution and discrimination against non-Muslims for the subjects of their realm was one of the founding principles of taheir rule and public policy.
    - sdm 10y ago
      As a Canadian, yes they did. Look at our history and how the British tried to assimilate the Canadiens. That's not to mention that forcing Christianity on conquered subjects was one of the main goals of the British Empire.
    - eru 10y ago
      When did the Ottoman Turks become Muslim?
      - gotchange 10y ago
        From the Saljuk period. Is this a history quiz :)?
        eru 10y ago
        Oh, I just couldn't recall when it happened, but it seemed obviously important when comparing to Christianity and the British Empire.
- Snargorf 10y ago
  I don't necessarily disagree with your analysis. Or that of others here. My point is that it's irrelevant in terms of how history affects peoples' actions. You're engaging a detailed study of historical reality, but the masses don't do that. They have a narrative spun for them - generally no more than two or three sentences of complexity, max - and that's what matters.

gotchange 10y ago

Did the British force people to convert to Christianity for them to enjoy the benefits of being subjects of the monarchy? The British Empire was vast and I can't come up with a definite answer for all the areas that were colonized by them but in my country "Egypt", they didn't do that. They however facilitated the work of western missionaries but it didn't achieve much with the Muslim locals and probably contributed to the outrage of Coptic clergy as these missionaries were snatching people from their congregation. Other than that, the British didn't really care about religion and their social order was constructed on race/class first basis and anything else second while for the Ottomans it was all about religion first and anything else second.

PhantomGremlin 10y ago
Did the British force people to convert to Christianity for them to enjoy the benefits of being subjects of the monarchy? How far back in history do you want to go? Plenty of battles within Christianity in British history. E.g. King Henry VIII didn't accept the authority of the pope and led the Church of England away from the Roman Catholic Church. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England#Separation_from_Rome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England#Separation_f... A few generations later, things got pretty dicey for the remaining Catholics: England’s Elizabethan Catholics were public enemy number one. Their Masses were banned and their priests were executed. http://www.historyextra.com/article/elizabeth-i/elizabeth-i%E2%80%99s-war-england%E2%80%99s-catholics http://www.historyextra.com/article/elizabeth-i/elizabeth-i%...
- gotchange 10y ago
  Did the British persecute Catholics when they were in an imperialist/expansionist mode around the world? To the best of my knowledge, that didn't happen. The British Empire in its quests wasn't concerned about anti-Catholicism and disdain for the authority of the Pope, it was primarily driven by political/financial gains. On the other hand, for the Ottoman Turks it was all about Jihad and the subjugation of non-Muslims in newly conquered territories. The persecution and discrimination against non-Muslims for the subjects of their realm was one of the founding principles of taheir rule and public policy.
  - sdm 10y ago
    As a Canadian, yes they did. Look at our history and how the British tried to assimilate the Canadiens. That's not to mention that forcing Christianity on conquered subjects was one of the main goals of the British Empire.
  - eru 10y ago
    When did the Ottoman Turks become Muslim?
    - gotchange 10y ago
      From the Saljuk period. Is this a history quiz :)?
      - eru 10y ago
        Oh, I just couldn't recall when it happened, but it seemed obviously important when comparing to Christianity and the British Empire.
Snargorf 10y ago
I don't necessarily disagree with your analysis. Or that of others here. My point is that it's irrelevant in terms of how history affects peoples' actions. You're engaging a detailed study of historical reality, but the masses don't do that. They have a narrative spun for them - generally no more than two or three sentences of complexity, max - and that's what matters.